Panama Master Thread

[shayaj]

Anyone here used "Panama Wild Adventures"?

[mlight]

Should a family of 6 (2 adults 4 kids) be fine using uber or better to rent a car?

[seth12345]

It seems that the most popular hotel in panama is the jw Marriott. However looking at pictures, the rooms seem very plain, and not really luxurious at all. Can anyone share what they're stay was like at the jw? Also, the Waldorf Astoria looks really nice but doesn't seem to be a popular choice here. Does anyone know why?

[mlight]

It seems that the most popular hotel in panama is the jw Marriott. However looking at pictures, the rooms seem very plain, and not really luxurious at all. Can anyone share what they're stay was like at the jw? Also, the Waldorf Astoria looks really nice but doesn't seem to be a popular choice here. Does anyone know why?

Location and location maybe

[ejb123]

Should a family of 6 (2 adults 4 kids) be fine using uber or better to rent a car?

If staying local to Panama City - two ubers is the best solution.

[Aviw]

I stayed in the jw and really enjoyed the hotel. Location is great. WA is not in a good location nether is it ocean view

[seth12345]

I stayed in the jw and really enjoyed the hotel. Location is great. WA is not in a good location nether is it ocean view

How was the actual hotel though? Like did it feel like a luxury hotel?

[efflpetzel]

What's the latest daily minyan shachris in pty city

[efflpetzel]

I never expounded on this-
For my last day, we decided to visit a nearby island, Contadora, it looked like it would be really nice place to visit.


We land in Contadora without any real plans. And apparently there's no easy to find bathrooms due to lack of water on the island. Anyways there's these black guys that hang out on the beach with motorboats to rent.
For $35/hour the motor boat also came with the entertaining guide (who didn't speak much English).

He took us to around whale watching for about an hour which was spectacular.
Getting real up-close views of a few humpback whales while in a tiny boat was exhilarating.

Afterwards we went to the beautiful deserted island of Chipera where we went snorkeling. You can also rent scuba equipment on Contadora. There's not much reef where I was but there were some beautiful tropical fish hanging out. Later, we hung out on the pristine beaches and crystal clear water, while the guide served us freshly picked coconuts.

Then, we headed out to Mogu Mogu where Season 7 of Survivor was shot. Mogu Mogu was also quite unique, more crystal clear water and beautiful shells and rocks that were worth taking home.

We then boated around some more taking in the scenic views of the various islands from the boat, while also passing some famous houses like the Shah of Iran and Christian Dior (IINM).

If visiting the Pearl Islands is there any reason not to hire a boat like this over taking Ilene from pearlislandsdaytours ?

[rollosolo]

My family and I recently returned from a visit to Panama. We had a wonderful time and it was all due to Alon Levi, (oakfrst@gmail.com; https://en.panamawithalon.com) who arranged our trip from beginning to end. Everything worked so smoothly, it was such a pleasure. We were eight of us in total, of all ages. Alon arranged the entire trip to appeal to all ages and took care of all the logistics, from pick up to and from the airport, to all the trips in between. In total, he arranged for six tours over the four days, with outstanding drivers and guides. He also arranged for two of us to travel to Boquete, to climb Vulcan Baru and to tour a coffee plantation, in addition to putting us in touch with Chabad in Boquete, who incidentally were incredibly great hosts for shabbat and prepared very tasty food!

Not only did Alon arrange everything, he also anticipated problems and remedied them before they happened, and constantly answered texts at all hours while we were in Panama, and he in Jerusalem, to answer any questions we had about traveling around Panama, about minyanim, and about kosher restaurants. Alon also constantly tweaked the itinerary and times of pick up and drop off from the hotel to customize it to our evolving needs, which kept shifting and which Alon patiently accommodated throughout the trip. 
All eight of us were extremely pleased and we recommend Alon highly for all your travel needs, in Panama, especially Jewish travel needs. I will add, I’m confident Alon can also arrange out-of-the-box trips, not necessarily listed on his Website, like the one we took to Boquete. Bottom line, we give Alon eight thumbs up!!

[AJK]

Thoughts on this potential itin (with a three-month old):

Monday Night
Dinner = Blame Kiki

Tuesday
Breakfast: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Activities: Miraflores Locks
Lunch: Lula
Activities: Amador Causeway (family bikes, ice cream, Smithsonian research center) and Old city (casco Viejo)
Dinner: Aria

Wednesday
Breakfast: Jeffrey's
Activities: Contadora Island
Dinner: Kava

Thursday
Breakfast: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Activities: Massages in the AM
Lunch: Yoss Burger
Activities: Ancon Hill

(As planned, skipping Monkey Island because 1) we've been to monkey forest in Bali, and 2) will have three-month old with us (and not older kids.)

[Lou Bob]

Thoughts on this potential itin (with a three-month old):

Monday Night
Dinner = Blame Kiki

Tuesday
Breakfast: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Activities: Miraflores Locks
Lunch: Lula
Activities: Amador Causeway (family bikes, ice cream, Smithsonian research center) and Old city (casco Viejo)
Dinner: Aria

Wednesday
Breakfast: Jeffrey's
Activities: Contadora Island
Dinner: Kava

Thursday
Breakfast: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Activities: Massages in the AM
Lunch: Yoss Burger
Activities: Ancon Hill

(As planned, skipping Monkey Island because 1) we've been to monkey forest in Bali, and 2) will have three-month old with us (and not older kids.)

(Un)popular opinion: Skip the Miraflores Locks. Do Monkey Island or the rainforest instead.

[Agoldsc1]

Does anyone have a good itinerary for a young family for a week? Any any recommendation for local tour guides who won't charge American prices?

[efflpetzel]

Thoughts on this potential itin (with a three-month old):

Monday Night
Dinner = Blame Kiki

Tuesday
Breakfast: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Activities: Miraflores Locks
Lunch: Lula
Activities: Amador Causeway (family bikes, ice cream, Smithsonian research center) and Old city (casco Viejo)
Dinner: Aria

Wednesday
Breakfast: Jeffrey's
Activities: Contadora Island
Dinner: Kava

Thursday
Breakfast: Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf
Activities: Massages in the AM
Lunch: Yoss Burger
Activities: Ancon Hill

(As planned, skipping Monkey Island because 1) we've been to monkey forest in Bali, and 2) will have three-month old with us (and not older kids.)

Find out when Jeffery's opens in the morning, if you're going by boat to Contadora it leaves very early in the morning

[tzifanya54]

Find out when Jeffery's opens in the morning, if you're going by boat to Contadora it leaves very early in the morning

You are correct. Won't be able to do both, same morning.

[Kobe Bryant]

It seems that the most popular hotel in panama is the jw Marriott. However looking at pictures, the rooms seem very plain, and not really luxurious at all. Can anyone share what they're stay was like at the jw? Also, the Waldorf Astoria looks really nice but doesn't seem to be a popular choice here. Does anyone know why?

IME it was luxurious. possibly depends on the room.

[Ploni3]

Waldorf has its water view blocked by other buildings.  If you want to be in a Hilton hotel go with the Hilton.

[PBaruch]

We stayed at the Residence Inn and would happily go back.  The hotel was brand new when we stayed there - rooms were very nice and you get a full kitchen with a full size refrigerator.  The kosher supermarket is now located on the ground floor and Jeffrey's is a block away.  Chabad is around the corner.  My advice is to skip the "luxury" and stay at the Residence. 

[myb821]

We stayed at the Residence Inn and would happily go back.  The hotel was brand new when we stayed there - rooms were very nice and you get a full kitchen with a full size refrigerator.  The kosher supermarket is now located on the ground floor and Jeffrey's is a block away.  Chabad is around the corner.  My advice is to skip the "luxury" and stay at the Residence.

Agree with this. Residence inn was great.

[Ysturmwind]

We are heading to Panama for Yeshiva week and I had a couple of quetions.

Looking for recommendations for shabbas meals. I saw Beth El and Chabad do meals on Gokosherpanama. Any experiences with them?

Is the hike at Ancon Hill too hard for young kids to do (3 and 6 year old)?